Butt plugs and safer, sexier anal play

A week or so ago I was out with friends for a birthday celebration and – lo and behold – we came across a beer bottle that looks like a butt plug. It’s challenging enough that people lose so many things up their rectum/anuses that were never meant to be inserted there, such as shampoo bottles, light bulbs, carrots, cucumbers, salad tongs (seriously) and, yes, even beer bottles. Why encourage it by designing beer bottles that look like popular sex toys?

Are they not twins? Check out a closer shot of the beer bottle if you’re not convinced:

Okay, maybe not exact twins but they are fairly close in design. I can definitely imagine that some people consider chugging their beer so they can sit on this thing and use it as a sex toy.

Of course, there is nothing necessarily risky about anal pleasuring or stimulation. It’s just that some people go about it in ways that put them at risk for discomfort, pain or damange such as by not using lubricant during anal penetration or anal sex, or by sticking things up their anus that are likely to get “lost”. When the latter happens, people often have to go to emergency rooms to get the so-called foreign object removed from their rectum. This is not always an easy procedure and healthcare providers have to tread very carefully lest they cause additional tearing during removal of the object.

Sex toys meant for anal play tend to:

- Have wider bases to reduce the risk of the toy slipping away and getting “lost” (out of reach) in the rectum
- In the case of anal beads, have “lifesaver rings” (circles of plastic or silicone) that one can easily hold on to during anal play
- Be smooth, with no major seams, creases, ridges or other parts that would likely cause anal cuts or tears

And remember, take your time during anal pleasuring, stop if it hurts, use plenty of water-based lubricant and check in with your healthcare provider if you have any questions about your personal health or well-being or the safety of your sexual activities.

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Dr. Debby Herbenick is a sex researcher at Indiana University, sexual health educator at The Kinsey Institute, columnist, and author of five books about sex and love. Learn more about her work at www.sexualhealth.indiana.edu.

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I need help…I like a butt plug I designed myself…it feels great and I can be hard for wifee for many hours of fun…I try to keep very cclean. I use condoms on it often…but…I continue to get bad prostate infections about every year or two…not clean enough? am I over stimulating? Help please…its embarrassing to me to tell me family doc, I butt plug it..and so does wiffee….after a hot weekend of sex, I often smell very yeasty….am I becoming vaginaL? ha…what gives doc sex..? I probably overdue it…was liberated in the 60s, am I getting old at 58? Something aint right…

much thanks in advance..david the all night commander

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